Reflections on living with and caring for animals

Humor and Heartbreak

06May 2016May 6, 2016May 6, 2016May 5, 2016

We don’t normally get a warm welcome from the cats we are trying to trap for their spay/neuter surgeries, but every rule has an exception. This week’s group was that exception. About 3/4 of the group is either outright friendly or semi-friendly. We were able to just pick up a couple of the cats. The rest of them hung around to see what we might be selling.

The heartbreak was that these cats were so hungry that I couldn’t get the traps down fast enough. Usually we have to put the traps out a week ahead of time, get the cats used to them by leaving them open with food inside, and then actually setting the trap after the cats are comfortable with them, This group wanted food so badly that they just ran into the traps as soon as we put food in them. It was like the proverbial catching fish in a barrel. Actually a lot of fun compared to the usual plodding pace of trapping.

The people who care for this group do their best, but have limited resources, and we’ve tried to help some too. But it is truly heartbreaking to see the cats so hungry. None are so thin as to be in danger, and they live in a big wooded area, and I’m sure they all hunt. Still, I am happy to have them with us for five or six days where they can eat well and rest up. And get spayed or neutered and vaccinated.

One of the cats has been sickly, according to the caretakers, and lost a lot of weight since he was attacked by some other creature about a month ago. I took him off to the vet today, and he has some wounds that need to be dealt with, but he’ll be okay. The vet will flush out the wounded paw on Saturday when she neuters him. It’s a procedure more easily done under anesthesia! He’s had an injection of a long-lasting antibiotic and has earned himself a couple weeks under our care until his paw heals up. He’s a sweet boy, and should make an excellent guest.

There are some real beauties in this group as well, like this lovely, who has been happily eating since her capture.

She kindly looks up from her dish once in a while, but we’re just fine with her eating as much as she wants.

The remaining few cats on the property are truly feral, and will be harder to catch. But I’ll work on that while these guys are getting their surgeries and recovering. There’s no way I’d be able to get the ferals with all the friendlies competing for trap space. But hey, for a free meal I might let myself get trapped too.